Some months ago I was perusing Bayou Renaissance Man and realized I'd been reading the same three paragraphs over and over again, and my comprehension was inversely proportional to the time I'd spent reading. Somewhat depressed, I poured another drink and found my way over to Fred Reed's little slice of Internet heaven, intent on cheering myself up. It was there that my worst secret fear of all time was confirmed, and it has nothing to do with Main Lady's satisfaction or happiness.
Some place or other Fred observed that the average man is doing good to find his way home every night. I tend to agree with him on a sort of intuitive 'sounds logical to me' level. Doing a little research I was interested to discover a politically incorrect and socially insensitive chart listing IQ groups and corresponding descriptions.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Out of Order
The blog's author, Mad Jack, is out of commission. Without going into details the trouble seems to be systemic to the entire digestive tract.
Mad Jack's significant other, Main Lady, suggested that Jack adopt the BRAT diet and stay with it until he was feeling his normal, curmudgeonly self again. Although she explained the diet to Jack, his mind is like a sieve. A twisted, rusted out sieve. Jack believed that BRAT stood for:
and it doesn't. It stands for:
Thank you for reading.
- White Dog
Mad Jack's significant other, Main Lady, suggested that Jack adopt the BRAT diet and stay with it until he was feeling his normal, curmudgeonly self again. Although she explained the diet to Jack, his mind is like a sieve. A twisted, rusted out sieve. Jack believed that BRAT stood for:
- Bourbon
- Rye
- Absinthe
- Tequila
and it doesn't. It stands for:
- Bananas
- Rice (white rice only)
- Applesauce (in moderation)
- Tea and Toast
Thank you for reading.
- White Dog
Monday, July 2, 2012
My Race Car Ride Along
About a week ago I got some email from Lash, Big Mike's ex-roommate (since Mike bought his own home), inviting me to join him at the sports car races.
Lash owns a Mustang GT which he often races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and the Mustang comes complete with a passenger seat. Now, if I can just fit into the passenger seat and if Lash has a seat belt extender, I'll be all set.
We will be racing at Mid Ohio Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I run four sessions each day; it's no problem to get you out for a ride on one of those sessions if you are interested.Red hot damn on a Saturday night! Yes, I'm interested. I'm way out in front of 'interested' -- I'm right there at the head of the line.
Lash owns a Mustang GT which he often races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and the Mustang comes complete with a passenger seat. Now, if I can just fit into the passenger seat and if Lash has a seat belt extender, I'll be all set.
Monday, June 25, 2012
A Day at the Range
I haven't been to the range since I qualified for my Ohio CCW permit, which I'll write about later on. So when Big Mike told me he'd be in town over the weekend and asked me if I'd like to go shooting, I naturally answered in the affirmative.
One way or another we got into a game of 9mm eight ball.
One way or another we got into a game of 9mm eight ball.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
The World We Live In
I found this one courtesy of The Smallest Minority: Every word out of their mouth was, 'We don't care.' In short, an elderly unemployed lady without health insurance decided to grow her own food in her own yard. When some silly son-of-a-bitch complained to the city government, the city sent out a work team and cut it all down. Now Denise Morrison is suing the city.
The Beginning Revisited
During the month of February of 2010 I started up Mad Jack's Shack with an essay about Main Lady's neighbor, noted horticulturist and seasonal entrepreneur, Clay Hausenfleck. You can read about Clay and his exploits here - Who Knew That This Would Be The Start Of Something. The short of it is that Clay and his family moved into their new house on November 30, 2005, but times were tough and they were about to get a whole lot tougher.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Congratulations Lucas County Sheriff
I went to a funeral today (next post) and the procession from the church to the cemetery was somewhat lengthy. Thirty-six (36) cars started off from the Bethany Community Fellowship parking lot and drove three and a half miles to Ottawa Hills Memorial Park - right through one of the busiest parts of town. Putting this in perspective, if the average length of an automobile is 16 feet, that's 576 feet of Tokyo Beer Cans if the cars are hooked up nose to tail, like a freight train. Which they aren't.
If the drivers of this procession allow one car length between vehicles, the entire parade stretches 1,152 feet. That's one thousand, one hundred and fifty two feet of rolling Christian mourners who are all on their best behavior. Now since the average man is doing good to find his way home every night, and since no one has ever been taught how to drive in a funeral procession... am I the only one to see a disaster in the making here?
Everyone managed to get out of the Bethany parking lot without bending any fenders and without allowing any gaps in the procession wider than, oh I don't know... call it three car lengths. Wide enough so that some moke waiting at a green light will not bother waiting around to see if there's more procession before hammering the throttle and getting on about his oh-so-important big hurry.
We head West on Alexis from Flanders, and that first turn is where the fun starts. You see, in the bad old days (1965, for instance) there wasn't any traffic light at Flanders and Alexis. In fact, back in the old days anyone heading West on Alexis Road had a solid two mile stretch of highway with no traffic lights, starting at Secor and maybe ending at Whiteford, unless you timed it right and made the light at Whiteford and Alexis. Flanders was just an insignificant cross street.
Which averaged one accident per week during the summer, and these were all injury accidents.
Old habits die hard, and when a traffic light was finally installed at Flanders and Alexis the accidents began to decrease and the panic stops and moving violations increased until things sort of stabilized. So today, when the irate drivers on Alexis are having their circuit boards shorted out by staring at a green light and a funeral procession, the right foot wants to win the argument and cut through the line. Because I'm in a hurry. I need to go! See?
About three blocks Southbound on Talmadge I see a Lucas County Deputy Sheriff finishing up a call at an abandoned home. She's standing next to her patrol car watching the parade with a Holy Moley look. Fortunately for all of us, the deputy took some initiative and ran interference for our wagon train all the way to the cemetery, keeping cretins, horn testers and other mental midgets in check. It's just so amazing to me how quiet and polite people are when the police are present.
I didn't get the lady deputy's license number or photo, which is kind of a shame. She is a handsome woman with long blond hair in her middle twenties, about five foot six, medium build. I'll send some email to the Lucas County Sheriff and see if it finds the right officer. In the meantime, here is my official thanks to the blond deputy, along with a tip of the old fedora and a hoist of my afternoon bourbon glass.
If the drivers of this procession allow one car length between vehicles, the entire parade stretches 1,152 feet. That's one thousand, one hundred and fifty two feet of rolling Christian mourners who are all on their best behavior. Now since the average man is doing good to find his way home every night, and since no one has ever been taught how to drive in a funeral procession... am I the only one to see a disaster in the making here?
Everyone managed to get out of the Bethany parking lot without bending any fenders and without allowing any gaps in the procession wider than, oh I don't know... call it three car lengths. Wide enough so that some moke waiting at a green light will not bother waiting around to see if there's more procession before hammering the throttle and getting on about his oh-so-important big hurry.
We head West on Alexis from Flanders, and that first turn is where the fun starts. You see, in the bad old days (1965, for instance) there wasn't any traffic light at Flanders and Alexis. In fact, back in the old days anyone heading West on Alexis Road had a solid two mile stretch of highway with no traffic lights, starting at Secor and maybe ending at Whiteford, unless you timed it right and made the light at Whiteford and Alexis. Flanders was just an insignificant cross street.
Which averaged one accident per week during the summer, and these were all injury accidents.
Old habits die hard, and when a traffic light was finally installed at Flanders and Alexis the accidents began to decrease and the panic stops and moving violations increased until things sort of stabilized. So today, when the irate drivers on Alexis are having their circuit boards shorted out by staring at a green light and a funeral procession, the right foot wants to win the argument and cut through the line. Because I'm in a hurry. I need to go! See?
About three blocks Southbound on Talmadge I see a Lucas County Deputy Sheriff finishing up a call at an abandoned home. She's standing next to her patrol car watching the parade with a Holy Moley look. Fortunately for all of us, the deputy took some initiative and ran interference for our wagon train all the way to the cemetery, keeping cretins, horn testers and other mental midgets in check. It's just so amazing to me how quiet and polite people are when the police are present.
I didn't get the lady deputy's license number or photo, which is kind of a shame. She is a handsome woman with long blond hair in her middle twenties, about five foot six, medium build. I'll send some email to the Lucas County Sheriff and see if it finds the right officer. In the meantime, here is my official thanks to the blond deputy, along with a tip of the old fedora and a hoist of my afternoon bourbon glass.
Thank you, Officer. You made our lives a lot easier and safer.
R.I.P. Hall Derkin
A friend of mine passed away last Monday (June 11, 2012). Hall Stewart Derkin was born in the city of brotherly love on April 27, 1918. He served in the US Army during World War II, attaining the rank of Captain. He was married for 65 years, raised three sons and helped to raise an unknown number of grandchildren. He owned his own business and was one of the three founders of a church; Bethany Community Fellowship in Sylvania, Ohio.
That's the facts. Here are a few things I admired about Hall, along with a few links.
That's the facts. Here are a few things I admired about Hall, along with a few links.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Hit and Run, The Conclusion
A long time ago, a little while back, a South side genius got screwed up on everything he could lay his happy hands on and manged to wander into Sylvania, Ohio, where he drove through Main Lady's front yard with reckless abandon, smacked into her happy home and promptly took to his heels. You can read all about it if you've a mind to in this entry: Hit and Run, which comes complete with photos.
The other day Main Lady got a call from the Sylvania Court. It seems that the wheels of justice have finally completed one revolution, the guilty party is going to be sentenced and has she ever been reimbursed for the damage this pinhead caused? No, she hasn't. Curiosity prompted me to see what was up, and after a complex search here's what I was able to find out.
The other day Main Lady got a call from the Sylvania Court. It seems that the wheels of justice have finally completed one revolution, the guilty party is going to be sentenced and has she ever been reimbursed for the damage this pinhead caused? No, she hasn't. Curiosity prompted me to see what was up, and after a complex search here's what I was able to find out.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Memorial Day - Monday, May 28, 2012
My thanks to all the men and women for their military service to the United States. I don't thank any one man or woman in particular. They all did the best they could and they all endured misery.
I would like to give special recognition to those people who came out of military service disabled. Thank you for your service, and I am truly sorry for any difficulties you are suffering today.
My highest recognition goes out to the families who lost a son or a daughter, and in particular to the mothers of those men and women. Certainly it's true that the fathers suffer also, but I believe that men tend to cope with the loss of a child a little better or easier than women do. It isn't a part of the natural order of things that a mother should have to bury her children, and I am very sorry for your loss.
I would like to give special recognition to those people who came out of military service disabled. Thank you for your service, and I am truly sorry for any difficulties you are suffering today.
My highest recognition goes out to the families who lost a son or a daughter, and in particular to the mothers of those men and women. Certainly it's true that the fathers suffer also, but I believe that men tend to cope with the loss of a child a little better or easier than women do. It isn't a part of the natural order of things that a mother should have to bury her children, and I am very sorry for your loss.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Griffin's Hines Farm Blues Club - Revisited
On Saturday May 19th, 2012 I drove out to Hine's Farm to see Carl Weathersby. I haven't been to Hine's Farm in a long while and I felt I was overdue for a double shot of ribs and good old blues music. Sadly, I've had better. Here's why, with spoilers.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
When Lawyers Go Bad: The Conclusion
I wrote about the disbarred attorney Linda S. Cook in my post titled: When Lawyers Go Bad. The local scandal sheet picked up the story but failed to run it to the goal line: Ex-Sylvania lawyer guilty of attempted records tampering - 8/25/2011.
Today I got some email from a person unknown to me asking about Linda S. Cook and her possible whereabouts. Having an hour or so to kill I decided to see if I could find out just what did happen to this wayward ex-servant of the Court, because the last I heard she was staring at a year and a half in the big house, courtesy of Judge Gary Cook (no relation). After a little searching I discovered what happened.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Tennessee Walking Horse Scandal
I was born and raised on a horse farm in Ohio. We had American Saddlebred horses which we showed in fine harness, three gaited and five gaited classes. My father was an accomplished horse trainer, and I spent about half of the first 25 years of my life inside a stable. I learned a lot about horse and the care they required.
One evening at a horse show in Columbia City, Indiana I was watching the show with my father when he abruptly turned his back to the ring. I was surprised.
One evening at a horse show in Columbia City, Indiana I was watching the show with my father when he abruptly turned his back to the ring. I was surprised.
Restaurant Review: Avenue Bistro
 |
| Avenue Bistro |
6710 W. Central Ave., Toledo, OH
(419) 841 - 5944
(419) 842 -1435 (Fax)
Mon - Thr: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Fri - Sat: 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Sun: Closed
Fri - Sat: 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Sun: Closed
Being at loose ends for lunch I decided to try Avenue Bistro again. I used to patronize Avenue Bistro for lunch on an irregular basis, often with my attorney Johnny the Hammer, but I discovered that the owners refused to heat the place during the winter and last February the dining room was an ice house so I swore the place off. Things have changed a little since then, and for the better.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Film Review: A Better Life (2011)
A Better Life
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 98 min
Genre: Drama
Tomato Meter: 85%
Cast
Cast overview, first billed only:
Demián Bichir as Carlos Galindo (Our Hero!)
Eddie 'Piolin' Sotelo as Himself (Our Cameo Celebrity!)
Joaquín Cosio as Blasco Martinez (Our Important Character!)
José Julián as Luis Galindo (Our Hero's Loyal Son!)
Nancy Lenehan as Mrs. Donnely (Our Pretty Much A Nobody!)
Gabriel Chavarria as Ramon (Our Other Latin!)
Bobby Soto as Facundo (Our Other Latin!)
Chelsea Rendon as Ruthie Valdez (Our Hot Latino Gang Banger Girl!)
Trampas Thompson as School Security Officer (Our School Security Officer, Without Whom The School Would Be Insecure!)
Tim Griffin as Juvie Officer (Our Authority Figure)
Valorie Hubbard as School Secretary (Our - what? She's playing a school secretary.)
Dolores Heredia as Anita (Our Other Heroine!)
Isabella Rae Thomas as Linda (Our Other Important Part!)
Carlos Linares as Santiago (Our Nasty Hombre!)
Robert Peters as Truck Driver (Our Truck Driver!)
If you're looking for a film that you can watch without getting bored out of your mind and that will make your girlfriend tear up and get pissed off at the world, well... this is as close as you're going to get. Keep reading to find out why, without spoilers.
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 98 min
Genre: Drama
Tomato Meter: 85%
Cast
Cast overview, first billed only:
Demián Bichir as Carlos Galindo (Our Hero!)
Eddie 'Piolin' Sotelo as Himself (Our Cameo Celebrity!)
Joaquín Cosio as Blasco Martinez (Our Important Character!)
José Julián as Luis Galindo (Our Hero's Loyal Son!)
Nancy Lenehan as Mrs. Donnely (Our Pretty Much A Nobody!)
Gabriel Chavarria as Ramon (Our Other Latin!)
Bobby Soto as Facundo (Our Other Latin!)
Chelsea Rendon as Ruthie Valdez (Our Hot Latino Gang Banger Girl!)
Trampas Thompson as School Security Officer (Our School Security Officer, Without Whom The School Would Be Insecure!)
Tim Griffin as Juvie Officer (Our Authority Figure)
Valorie Hubbard as School Secretary (Our - what? She's playing a school secretary.)
Dolores Heredia as Anita (Our Other Heroine!)
Isabella Rae Thomas as Linda (Our Other Important Part!)
Carlos Linares as Santiago (Our Nasty Hombre!)
Robert Peters as Truck Driver (Our Truck Driver!)
If you're looking for a film that you can watch without getting bored out of your mind and that will make your girlfriend tear up and get pissed off at the world, well... this is as close as you're going to get. Keep reading to find out why, without spoilers.
Friday, May 18, 2012
On being ostracized...
In the past I have worked in the IT industry on contract, meaning that I'm not a permanent employee. I'm only on site until the job gets done or someone fires me, whereupon I shake the dust from my heels and go find another job. My very first job as a contractor was at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, where I learned that I wasn't just a contractor; I was a scum-sucking contractor. I learned a lot of other things as well, in particular that if you actually worked and took on extra responsibility people would think that you're valuable and keep you around while other people would take an instant dislike to you for no discernible reason.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Restaurant Review: AMango
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| AMango Restaurant |
5228 Monroe St.; Toledo, OH
Hours: Wed - Mon 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Closed Tuesday
(419) 517 - 0261
Flowers in May
While taking Excellent Rachmaninoff for his afternoon canine constitutional, I assembled my camera and the flowers in Main Lady's front yard. The results exceed my own standards of mediocrity, so I'm posting them here. I hope everyone enjoys them.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Got pain?
Call your State of Ohio elected official - they know everything.
Well, the morons in Columbus have managed to do it again. Just when I was willing to believe that they couldn't do anything dumber, they proved that I had no idea what I was talking about. Now they're trying to regulate the drugs an emergency room can prescribe for pain, and the urgent care facilities are enthusiastically doing their very best to hitch their own float to this parade.
That is, if you believe commercial media.
Well, the morons in Columbus have managed to do it again. Just when I was willing to believe that they couldn't do anything dumber, they proved that I had no idea what I was talking about. Now they're trying to regulate the drugs an emergency room can prescribe for pain, and the urgent care facilities are enthusiastically doing their very best to hitch their own float to this parade.
That is, if you believe commercial media.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Police Shooting
This goes under the heading of murder by cop with a sub-heading of our completely screwed up justice system.
On December 14, 2009 Toledo police officer Diane Chandler shot and killed Linda Hicks. I've written about the shooting of Linda Hicks or referred to it twice, once in Police State and again in Here's an offer you can't refuse. I believe that the shooting was completely unjustified.
On December 14, 2009 Toledo police officer Diane Chandler shot and killed Linda Hicks. I've written about the shooting of Linda Hicks or referred to it twice, once in Police State and again in Here's an offer you can't refuse. I believe that the shooting was completely unjustified.
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